Solarworld Expects EU’s China Anti-Dumping Duties in May or June

Jan. 4 (Bloomberg) -- Solarworld AG, the German solar-panel
maker that led a group of manufacturers in a complaint against
unfair competition from Chinese companies, expects the European
Union to announce anti-dumping duties as early as May.

EU regulators may impose preliminary anti-dumping duties on
Chinese solar products on May 1 or June 1, Chief Executive
Officer Frank Asbeck said yesterday in an interview. The shares
rose the most in more than a year in Frankfurt.

He expects the market to be “very tough” until the
playing field becomes more fair in Europe. Bonn-based Solarworld
will focus on the U.S. and Japan, where Asbeck said there is
growing demand for higher efficiency panels. The company sees
“no chance” to sell German solar panels in China due to
“unfair market entry conditions,” he said.

“We expect a clear statement from the European Commission,
as the data and facts show that unfair subsidies and dumping
from Chinese suppliers takes place in Europe,” Asbeck said by
phone.

The commission, the EU’s trade authority, initiated an
investigation Sept. 6 into whether Chinese manufacturers sold
solar wafers, cells and panels in the 27-nation bloc below cost,
a practice known as dumping.

The move was a response to a July complaint from 25
European solar companies led by Solarworld, and followed a U.S.
decision last year to impose anti-dumping duties as high as 250
percent on Chinese manufacturers.

Shifting Production

Solarworld, which has a plant in Hillsboro, Oregon, plans
to convert a “significant” share of its U.S. multi-crystalline
production capacity into mono-crystalline capacity, Asbeck said.
Mono-crystalline panels converts more of the energy in sunlight
into electricity at a slightly higher cost.

U.S. investors including Warren Buffett are showing more
interest in solar power, he said. Buffett’s MidAmerican Energy
Holdings Co. agreed Jan. 2 to spend as much as $2.5 billion on
what will be the world’s largest photovoltaic power project in
California.

The deal is a “good sign” for the U.S. market, Asbeck
said. “Buffett is a great name, but many other U.S. investors
have identified the solar sector as a secure investment.”

Asbeck said he doesn’t believe “euphoric” forecasts that
China will become the biggest solar market in 2013 as the
country is “too decentralized.”

China is expected to install as much as 3,980 megawatts of
photovoltaic panels this year, which would make it the biggest
market as demand in Germany will fall to 1,700 megawatts,
according to a November report from Bloomberg New Energy
Finance.

Germany added 7,274 megawatts of panels in the first 11
months of last year, according to data from federal grid
regulator Bundesnetzagentur. Asbeck expects Germany to add less
than 5,000 megawatts of panels this year.

Solarworld climbed 15 percent to 1.25 euros at the close in
Frankfurt, the biggest one-day gain since Nov. 11, 2011.